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Michelle Alonso arrived at her seat in section 114 at Citi Field shortly before first pitch at the Mets’ home opener in March. Her husband, Peter, was at her side, as they watched her firstborn, also Peter, be announced to the crowd of 44,424 fans as the starting first baseman, batting second.
It was his home debut. Baseball was on parade, but her mind marched back to a quieter time in Queens, her family’s only previous visit to the stadium. It was in the summer of 2016, when Alonso signed his first contract as the Mets’ second round pick — No. 64 overall — in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft.
“So bizarre,” she says. “Nobody was here. Front office people were out. He just signed quietly in a conference room and they ordered pizza. Still, you felt, hopefully one day he’ll be here, and this is the day.”
When he walked to home plate for the first time, the stadium speakers played Cody Johnson’s “Welcome to the Show.”
